GOSPEL

Let the one among you who is faultless be the first to cast a stone.
Reading from the Gospel according to John 8:1-11

During that time, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. In the early morning, he returned to the temple, and a crowd gathered around him. He sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, stood her before the crowd, and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, seeking grounds to accuse him. Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. As they continued to question him, he stood up and said, “Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. Upon hearing this, they left one by one, starting with the elders, until only Jesus and the woman remained. Jesus stood up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin again.”

The Word of the Lord

Endless Excuses.

According to Saint John Paul II, our hearts can react to sin in two ways: accusation or calling. Accusation, fueled by darkness, despair, contempt, and condemnation, is characteristic of the devil. However, the Lord comes not to condemn but to forgive, heal, restore dignity, and entrust us with His grace once more. Today, we must choose between adopting the devil’s accusatory stance or embracing God’s forgiving approach to sin.

Applied to Marriage:

Mary: (Inwardly prays: “Lord, my husband has treated me harshly, but I won’t hold it against him. I won’t condemn him but instead offer myself in sacrifice for his redemption.”) Darling, you seem tense now, but this will pass, and you’ll find your way back to the Lord’s heart. Your love for the Lord is evident; you don’t wish to cause Him pain. You seek union with Him and with me. I believe you’ll continue striving, and the Lord will sanctify you. I trust you, Carlos. You’re an amazing husband.
Charles: Thank you, Merche. Your encouragement helps me regain my dignity as a child of God and restores my hope. Thank you for your boundless love. May God bless you abundantly.

Mother,

We are blessed to have such a merciful Father. We aspire to act as His beloved children. Forever praised be His name.

GOSPEL
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered and said,
“This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself.”
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

Word of the Lord:

Husband’s priestly role.

Letting go of self-centered love. That’s the only path to genuine love. Sacrificing oneself for love is the key to communion, embracing humiliations, shame, and contempt out of love for one’s spouse and their salvation. Jesus shows us how to be spouses who embody priesthood by sacrificing ourselves for the salvation of our spouse, our family, and other couples.

Applied to Marriage:

Alex : I’m discovering how to live out my marriage as a baptized priest.
Rachel: A priest? I’m confused.
Alex: Yes, just as Christ marries the Church as a high priest, clothed in an unsewn robe, He wants me to love you. That’s my mission as a priest.
Rachel: Okay, but how does that play out in our everyday married life?
Alex: It means I used to blame you for your sins, but now I understand that’s not the way. As a Christian husband, it means sacrificing myself, alongside Christ in our Sacrament, for the cleansing of your sins.
Rachel: So, being a priest in our marriage means seeing your sins as an opportunity to love you through my sacrifices for your sake and your salvation. It’s a remarkable shift in how we view marriage. I love the idea of being both husband and priest, following Christ’s example of self-sacrifice.

Mother,

Continue guiding us to be spouses like Christ the Bridegroom. Forever praised.

Gospel of the day

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GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
“Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.

The Gospel of the Lord

 

Sender of our love.

No one would have expected an incarnated God. In reality, where he was born, was important because if He truly came from Nazareth , what could they have expected beyond the capabilities and limitations of an ordinary human being?

But Jesus does not come from Nazareth, He comes from God, and everything he does comes from God. He becomes a man in a city, at a moment in time, and under specific circumstances, He is the Messiah.

 

Applied to Married Life:

Alicia: Paco, do you think it is possible for us to live in love similar to God’s love?

Paco: I believe it is key asking ourselves where our relationship comes from, because that will be the base of our entire life together. If it comes from civil laws, I’ll be limited by our human capabilities, and by the current legislation. I’ll be a better husband the more empathetic, helpful, attentive, generous… I am. If I am, I’ll be condemned for my arrogance, for thinking that this is up to me. If I am not, I am condemned for failing in love. But if I trust the love from God to me, if our marriage comes from Him, I must set unreachable goals for humans and I will not be limited by my own capabilities.

Alicia: Yes, as Mother Angelica said: “Your plans, your projects, your dreams must always be bigger than you, so that God has room to act.” And our marriage is something Great, much greater than you and me.

Paco: Exactly. That’s why our goal should be Marital Charity, communion, and ultimately, holiness, because I know where we come from and where our marriage comes from: From our Almighty God, all Love.

 

Mother,

May I never forget where I come from and Who is the One who unites us, Who is the beginning and the end of everything. May I live my life as a husband to my spouse, but in Him and for Him. We consecrate ourselves to you, Mother, to put ourselves at Your service for you greater glory. Our lives, our time, and our strength is all yours. We trust you will know how to put them at his service. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews:

“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.

But there is another who testifies on my behalf,

and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.

You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.

I do not accept human testimony,

but I say this so that you may be saved.

He was a burning and shining lamp,

and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.

But I have testimony greater than John’s.

The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,

these works that I perform testify on my behalf

that the Father has sent me.

Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.

But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,

and you do not have his word remaining in you,

because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.

You search the Scriptures,

because you think you have eternal life through them;

even they testify on my behalf.

But you do not want to come to me to have life.

 

“I do not accept human praise;

moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.

I came in the name of my Father,

but you do not accept me;

yet if another comes in his own name,

you will accept him.

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another

and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:

the one who will accuse you is Moses,

in whom you have placed your hope.

For if you had believed Moses,

you would have believed me,

because he wrote about me.

But if you do not believe his writings,

how will you believe my words?”

The Gospel of the Lord

 

By a mile.

It’s true that Jesus, being the Savior, being the Son of God, practically does not speak about Himself. You would have thought that it is the most important, given that our faith is Christ-centred and we are saved by being in Him. Despite of that, He does not testify of Himself. He is completely centred away from Him and focused on the Father and on us, like the groom that is in love and only has thoughts for His Bride.

 

Applied to Married Life:

Marcos: I took a notebook and started listing the times I think about myself, in another list, the times I think about you, and the last list, the times I think about the Lord. And you do know what the result was?

Claudia: What was it?

Marcos: My list won by a mile. Furthermore, from the list I made about you, I classified the good things I thought about you and the not-so-good things. And the result is worse because of the number of times I have negatively thought about you.

Claudia: Wow, that is not good. I thought you loved me.

Marcos: I love you and I want to love you more. That is why I have decided to pinch myself and hurt myself every time I think about myself or think poorly of you. I have a lot to heal, Claudia. Because You are the best thing God has given me.

Claudia: Okay, Marcos. Well, to avoid complaining, I’ll do the same. I’ll make my own list, because I might be surprised and my love for myself will win by a mile too.

 

Mother,

May we be witness to Him and may He be witness to us. How ugly it is to go around defending oneself and “selling” one’s own image to others. We prefer to look to the Lord and to the love of our life: our spouse. Praise be to God.